Blog

Relics from the DDR

Part XIII: DDR products

16 Nov 2016 by Admin
The border between the two German states did not only divide the people into East and West, but also the product world. Some of the articles which were developed in the DDR have survived the transformation after 1989 and have their fixed place in today's supermarkets in western and eastern parts of Germany.
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Shops and department stores in the GDR

The »Konsumgenossenschaften«

10 Nov 2016
The so-called »Konsum« shops sold goods for daily use. The term »Konsum« was the popular abbreviation for »Konsumgenossenschaften« or »consumer cooperatives«, which had been founded in 1945. Just a few years later, the Konsum retail chain shaped the shopping scene in the GDR. We show you thematic objects from our collection.
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Tourism in the DDR

The island of Rügen

9 Nov 2016 by Admin
Rügen is located in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the German state of Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania. With an area of 976 m² it is the largest island in Germany.
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Exhibition

The children’s bedroom: Introduction

2 Nov 2016 by Melanie Alperstaedt
Welcome to our new blog series, in which we will introduce each room of our new permanent exhibition for an entire month. Once a week, different staff members who took part in the creation of the exhibition will approach the rooms from their specific professional points of view. In September we have already been talking about the kitchen, in October the focus was on the living room. In November we will be talking about the children’s room which is part of our WBS 70 Plattenbau apartment.
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From the museum

The children's room in the DDR Museum

1 Nov 2016
In the DDR Museum's recreation of a typical children's room, you can not only reminisce about and discover many original toys, books and home accessories, but also learn about the influence the state had on the lives of young people.
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Collection

Collecting with a system: How do objects get into a collection?

26 Oct 2016 by Admin
A museum has five main tasks: Teaching/communicating, Exhibiting, Researching, Collecting and Preserving. At the DDR Museum, the last two tasks are taken care of by the collection department. Collecting therefore also means to reasonably enlarge the inventory and to add new objects to the museum's collection. The following blog text will tell you more about how this exactly works.
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Collection

Fuel for the DDR – the brand Minol and the Minol Pirol

19 Oct 2016 by Admin
In order to keep motor vehicles sustained with fuel, an area-covering net of gas stations is required. As a result of the Second World War, the existing net of gas stations was divided along the different occupation zones after the West German brand „Gasoline“ was running all gas stations in all of the occupation zones in the beginning.
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Survey

The DDR Museum is number 36 among the most popular sights in Germany

12 Oct 2016 by Admin
Every year, the DTZ (German National Tourist Board) is asking international visitors to name their favourite places in Germany. In 2016, the 40,000 participants of the survey voted the DDR Museum on number 36. We would like to thank everyone who gave us their voice for this great ranking!
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Exhibition

The living room: A first impression

5 Oct 2016 by Melanie Alperstaedt
A warm welcome to our new blog series in which we will present a room of our new exhibition part for an entire month. Once a week, staff members who have been involved in the creation of the exhibition will look at the different rooms from their very own professional perspective. The kitchen was the main topic in September; the October will focus on the living room of the WBS 70 apartment which you can visit at the DDR Museum since September.
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Exhibition

The kitchen – Part III: The perspective of the curator

28 Sep 2016 by Admin
After the kitchen has been looked at from many different perspectives, today I, the curator, have the opportunity to tell you something about the content of that room. Of course this cannot replace the individual experience of the exhibition itself– however, I would like to make you a little curious about the topics diet, consumation and the role of women in the DDR.
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Happy cooking!

Junket Lorraine and icecream pears

16 Sep 2016 by Janine Henschel
Who can seriously say no to scrumptious desserts? Even more so if they look as yummy and sound as tasty as the two recipes from the collection of the DDR Museum... definitely worth a "sweet sin"!
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Exhibition

Everyday life in the Plattenbau – new exhibition part at the DDR Museum

7 Sep 2016 by Admin
Finally, the time had come during the Long Night of the Museums on August 27th, 2016: The DDR Museum opened the doors to the new exhibition part which had been developed and planned for the past 1 ½ years.
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From the museum

The kitchen in the DDR Museum

6 Sep 2016
The DDR Museum’s fully furnished WBS-70 flat includes a reconstruction of a typical GDR kitchen. Here you can not only (re)discover many original objects and get some cooking inspiration for your meals back at home, but also learn about other topics on GDR history, conveyed in a playful and engaging way.
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Event

Long Night of the Museums

31 Aug 2016 by Admin
Last Saturday, the DDR Museum opened its doors until the small hours: Our institution was one of the 77 museums in Berlin which took part in the 36th Long Night of the Museums and greeted a total of 28.000 guests – 5400 of which visited our museum. Just like the many years before, we offered quite a diverse framework program and the special atmosphere of the late summer night made the event quite memorable!
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Event

Press conference for the opening of the new exhibition „Everyday life in the Plattenbau”

24 Aug 2016 by Admin
Last Friday, August 19th 2016, a press conference took place at the DDR Museum on behalf of the opening of the new permanent exhibition on August 27th 2016, in the context of the Lange Nacht der Museen in Berlin. The long period of preparation is now almost over and we are looking forward to show even more of a hands-on experience of history on additional 270m²!
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Behind the scenes

With a DDR Museum-Outfit across Berlin

3 Aug 2016 by Admin
Not everyone in Berlin still knows what a "Niethose" or a "Rennpappe" is. As of now you will see these and other terms from GDR times rolling along the S-Bahn tracks – for there is an S-Bahn driving around designed in the DDR Museum look!
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Off topic

Pokémon Go at the DDR Museum

27 Jul 2016 by Admin
A new attraction can be found at the DDR Museum since a couple of weeks:  The Pokémon Go hype has arrived at our exhibition! Both visitors as well as staff members are having a lot of fun chasing the colorful little monsters which are hiding on our exhibition premises, in the office or around the DDR Museum itself.
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Jubilee

10 years of a hands-on experience of history!

20 Jul 2016 by Admin
Last Thursday, the 14th of July in 2016, the DDR Museum celebrated its 10th birthday. Many friends, partners and of course all staff members reveled the special event at the river front and lifted their glasses to the successes of the past and the exciting projects for the future of our institution.
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Retrospect

10 years of a hands-on experience of history – birthday week at the DDR Museum!

13 Jul 2016 by Admin
The coming week at the DDR Museum will be all about its 10-year existence. The institution is celebrating its 10th birthday and will look back at its turbulent and exciting history. In this blog we are going to review some special highlights!
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Behind the Scenes

A question from a British artist: How did social cohesion look like in the GDR?

13 Jul 2016 by Admin
Last week we were visited by Mr. Sullivan, an artist from Great Britain who is currently doing research for his current art project. He was especially interested in the social cohesion and social commitment in the GDR as well as the changes which followed the Wende concerning relationships within the society.
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